Generally, in a service set architecture of a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless station (STA) associated with a wireless access point (AP) sends data to the wireless AP, so as to communicate with another wireless STA. The wireless STA does not forward, through a wired connection, data sent by another device.
With the development of wireless communications technologies, a WLAN may connect to a wired network where a user is located. In this architecture, data is forwarded from the wired network where the user is located to a wireless network, and may be further forwarded to a wired network where another user is located or forwarded to a wide area network.
To fulfill a function of connecting a WLAN with a wired network where a user is located, the wireless STA also needs to be capable of forwarding data that is sent through a wired connection by another device. That is, in this architecture, the wireless STA also provides a bridging function.